Red Dead Redemption 2: Hardest Achievements to Earn

Red Dead Redemption 2 has over 50 achievements for players to earn to prove which of the true fans are legendary outlaws who can complete every challenge that awaits them. However, in the quest for the platinum of 100% completion of Red Dead Redemption 2, there are some achievements and trophies that will cause players a bit of grief.

The hardest achievements in Red Dead Redemption 2 might take players a bit of time to complete, and some may even be missable. Either way, it’s a good idea to check in with what trophies in RDR2 will be the hardest to obtain so that players can see a path forward to their status as a Legend of the East.

9

Grin and Bear It

Survive 18 Bear Attacks and Kill the Bear Each Time

Grin and Bear It requires players to locate a Grizzly Bear and get tackled by it, only to survive the attack and then kill the bear. Doing so isn’t easy, especially when this needs to be done a total of 18 times, which will easily consume an hour or two as players helplessly roam West Elizabeth in search of 18 Grizzly Bears to fight.

Not only is it a challenge to find a total of 18 Grizzly Bears, but players will also need to survive their attacks, when in most cases, without full health and golden attributes from tonics, players will be instant-killed. It’s a hard challenge that takes some time, but it’s certainly doable.

8

Gold Rush

Earn 70 Gold Medals in Story Missions

Perhaps the hardest challenge of them all for Red Dead Redemption 2’s achievements is Gold Rush, which requires players to get a total of 70 Gold Medals across Story Missions. There are a total of 104 Gold Medals that can be obtained through Story Missions, and even though players might think that obtaining only 70 of them will be easy, they will be mistaken when they realize that’s basically the majority of the entire game.

Some missions have easy completions, but others will require players to do the mission with a certain accuracy, a certain number of headshots, no restarts, and a speed run time of a few minutes. This means skipping multiple cutscenes, surviving many encounters without missing a single bullet, and so on, for 70+ missions.

7

It’s Art

Find a Permanent Home for the Squirrel Statue

The Squirrel Statue is first gifted to John Marston in A Better World, A New Friend, a Stranger mission that only opens to players in Strawberry once players complete all 5 Hunting Requests for Ms. Hobbs. Upon completion, players will earn the Squirrel Statue and place it upon the fireplace of Beecher’s Hope, only to discover it has gone missing.

Not only is it hard enough to find a total of 20 perfect carcasses needed for Ms. Hobbs, but it’s also hard to find the Squirrel Statue each and every time it moves from the fireplace mantle, which makes It’s Art a fairly tedious but rewarding trophy as John proudly displays a stuffed squirrel with his iconic attire.

6

Bountiful

Survive 3 Days Holding a Bounty of $250 in All States

Bountiful is for the sinners and the outlaws out there who want to amass a bounty in every state and earn an achievement so that they can live and tell the tale. For this achievement, players only need to amass a $250 bounty in the following states, excluding New Austin:

• Ambarino
• Lemoyne
• New Hanover
• West Elizabeth

What makes this challenge difficult is not only the perseverance to survive 3 days of lawmen and bounty hunters hunting for Arthur but the fact that players need to ride into every state and kill enough innocent people to amass a bounty. It’s not for those looking to do a high honor run.

5

Best in the West

Attain 100% Completion

Attaining 100% Completion in Red Dead Redemption 2 isn’t as simple as just completing all missions. In fact, there is a specific set of requirements to conclude the story of Arthur Morgan and his journal, and the monumental requirements can all be found below:

4

Zoologist

Study Every Animal Across All States

It’s going to be an intense journey ahead, as the Zoologist achievement requires players to study 178 animals in total. Thankfully, none of these animals are missable, since the Guarma animals do not count for the achievement. However, this does mean every dog, every horse, and every other wild animal that can be found in the game, including the wealth of wildlife found in New Austin in the Epilogue.

Zoologist is a hard achievement to earn simply because of the resilience and patience it takes to find and discover them all. Studying animals is simple at first, but with some birds being so high in the sky, and other animals refusing to spawn, it can be quite a troublesome adventure.

3

Skin Deep

Skin Every Species of Animal

The Skin Deep achievement requires players to skin every species of animal found in Red Dead Redemption 2. While there are over 178 animals to study, this achievement just requires players to skin 71 of them. This doesn’t make the achievement any easier, as players are still going to have to track and kill their prey for the trophy itself.

Some animal spawns will be more common than others, but the underlying factor of it all is that players are still going to have to massacre a lot of animals across 5 different states if they want to earn this rather patient achievement.

2

Errand Boy

Deliver 5 Camp Companion Item Requests

From Chapter 2 to Chapter 4, players can pick up all sorts of Camp Companion Item Requests, but only if they actually spend some time with the Van der Linde gang. Most players will ride out of camp to explore the world and engage in fun missions, and only return when there’s a main mission to do. As such, players are most likely going to miss out on a few goodies, like camp interactions, and requests from other members that would like a certain item.

While the reward for collecting these items isn’t too great, and finding them can be a bother, players will need to complete at least 5 of these Camp Companion Item Requests if they are to obtain the achievement. Failing to do so before the end of Chapter 4 will cause this section to be completely missable.

1

Lending a Hand

Complete all Optional Honor Story Missions

There are 21 Optional Honor Story Missions that can be found and completed in Red Dead Redemption 2, but only if Arthur Morgan has High Honor. These missions are missable if players fail to complete them within their noted Chapter, so it’s best to search the map and complete them as soon as they pop up to continue their chain. The following quest chains are what players need to follow:

• Good, Honest, Snake Oil
• Money Lending and Other Sins 1 to 7
• We Loved Once and True 1 to 3
• The Course of True Love 1 to 5
• Help a Brother Out
• Brothers and Sisters, One and All
• Fatherhood and Other Dreams
• Of Men and Angels
• Archaeology for Beginners
• Honor, Amongst Thieves
• Do Not Seek Absolution 1 to 2
• Mrs. Sadie Adler, Widow